The Centre has allocated Rs 10,012 crore in the Union Budget for the development of railway sector in Odisha. Last year, it was Rs 9,734 crore, this year it is Rs 278 crore more than last year’s allocation.
While the state has asked for Rs 8,400 crore for the sector, the central allocation was more than the demanded amount.
The government had planned to redevelop 34 railway stations in the state, but the number has been increased to 57, which includes Bhubaneswar, Puri, Cuttack, Rourkela, Sambalpur and other small and medium stations. One of the oldest and important projects – the new Khurda Road-Balangir (301 km) line – received the highest allocation of Rs 1,599 crore. The project, which was sanctioned in 1994-95, will connect western Odisha with the coastal part. East Coast Railway has commissioned around 90.43 km from Khurda Road side and around 25 km from Balangir side.
The Centre has also planned Janjatiya Gaurav Corridor to provide rail connectivity to tribal areas for which an allocation of Rs 284 crore has been made in this Budget. Last year, the Centre had sanctioned final location surveys of new Malkangiri-Bhadrachalam line (125 km) and Junagarh-Nabarangpur line (118 km). With the sanction of the final survey of Malkangiri-Bhadrachalam and Junagarh-Nabarangpur new lines, the railways made it sure that it will connect tribal areas of 411 km from Junagarh in Odisha to Bhadrachalam in Telangana.